Jurassic Park Franchise

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The Jurassic Park franchise is a series of books, films and video games centering on the attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when Universal Studios bought the rights to the novel by Michael Crichton before it was even published.

The book was very successful, as was the 1993 film adaptation which led to two sequels, although the third film was not based on a novel, as the previous films were. The software developers Ocean Software, BlueSky Software and Sega of America have had the rights to developing video games since the 1993 film, and numerous games have been produced.

Contents

Development

Jurassic Park

Michael Crichton originally conceived a screenplay around a pterodactyl being cloned from fossil DNA. After wrestling with this idea for a while, he came up with Jurassic Park. Steven Spielberg learned of the novel in October 1989 while he and Crichton were discussing a screenplay that would become the TV series ER. Before the book was published, Crichton put up a non-negotiable fee for $1.5 million as well as a substantial percentage of the gross. Warner Bros. and Tim Burton, Columbia Tristar and Richard Donner, and 20th Century Fox and Joe Dante also bid for the rights, Universal further paid Crichton $500,000 to adapt his own novel, but Universal eventually acquired them in May 1990 for Spielberg. Universal desperately needed money to keep their company alive, and partially succeeded with Jurassic Park, as it became a critical and commercial success.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

After Jurassic Park was released to home video, Crichton was pressured from many sources for a sequel novel. Crichton declined all offers until Spielberg himself told him that he would direct the sequel, if one would ever occur. Production then began almost immediately. After the novel was published in 1995, The Lost World: Jurassic Park began production in September 1996.

Jurassic Park III

Jurassic Park 3 was originally going to be called "Jurassic Park: Extinction", but then Universal decided to drop it, and reuse it for Jurassic Park IV. Jurassic Park 3 was green lit in 1999, with the story by Steven Spielberg of Alan Grant who lived in a tree for eight years on one of the islands, to study the animals. Joe Johnson rejected it because he felt it was like an episode of "Friends", and no one wanted to see six college students on the dinosaur island. Johnston never had any concrete concept for the third installment, other than stating the film would be "more stand-alone" and feature lots of flying reptiles.

New writers were brought in to scribe a story involving Pteranodons escaping from Site B and causing a rash of mysterious killings on the mainland, which was to be investigated by Alan Grant and a number of other characters including wealthy Paul Roby and his 12-year-old son Miles, Paul's love interest, Billy Brennan, a naturalist named Simone, and a tough Military Attache. Grant's group was to track the Pterosaurs back to Site B and crash on the island, while a parallel investigation was carried out on the mainland. Supposedly, the aviary sequence and laboratory set piece were much longer and more complex, including raptors stealthily entering the hatchery while the team spent the night. Sets, costumes, and props were built for this version, before Johnston threw out the completed script five weeks before filming in order to pursue the "rescue mission" plot, which was suggested by David Koepp. Also during the pre-production phase, concept artists created advertising for the film using a number of working titles including Jurassic Park: Extinction and Jurassic Park: Breakout.

Production began on August 30, 2000 without a finished script, with filming in California, Oahu, and Molokai. Although it is an original story, not based on a Michael Crichton novel, it does contain minor scenes from Crichton's Jurassic Park and The Lost World novels that were not featured in the film versions, such as the Pteranodon aviary and the use of the boat. In a change from the first two films, Spinosaurus replaced T. rex as the main antagonist. As to why Spinosaurus was chosen for such a role, Johnston stated, "A lot of dinosaurs have a very similar silhouette to the T-rex... and we wanted the audience to instantly recognize this as something else." Baryonyx was originally considered to be the "big bad" before Spinosaurus was chosen, but was dropped because it was smaller than T-Rex.

The special effects used for the dinosaurs are a mixture of animatronics and CGI. The portrayal of several dinosaurs differs from that of the previous two films. Due to new discoveries and theories in the field of paleontology suggesting that Velociraptors were feathered, the Velociraptors in the film have quill-like structures on the head and neck. "We've found evidence that Velociraptors had feathers, or feather-like structures, and we've incorporated that into the new look of the raptor," said paleontologist Jack Horner, the technical adviser on the film.

Jurassic World

Jurassic Park IV has been talked about ever since the release of its predecessor, Jurassic Park III. In June 2002, Steven Spielberg told Starlog magazine that he planned to produce Jurassic Park IV, and Joe Johnson paned to direct the third sequel. November 2002, screenwriter William Monahan was hired to write it, and it's release was set for Summer 2005. In July 2003, Monahan completed the first draft, with the story no longer set in the jungle. This may have been the plot fo dinosaurs going to the mainland. Sam Neil said he would return as Dr. Alan Grant, and filming to begin in 2004. The filming locations were Hawaii and California. In September 2004, screenwriter John Sayles was re-writing the script, with the films new release was for winter 2005. His story was about a new character, Nick Harris, who returns to Isla Nublar, and retrieves Dennis Nedry's can of DNA. He is captured by the Grendel corporation, which now owns InGen, and he is hired to train five genetically modified Deinonychus as mercenaries.

In October 2004, paleontologist Jack Horner said he would return as technical adviser for the fourth film as he had done for previous Jurassic Park films. In April 2005, special effects artist Stan Winston explained that the delay in production was due to repeated revisions of the film's script, none of which satisfied Spielberg. Winston stated, "He felt neither of [the drafts] balanced the science and adventure elements effectively. It's a tough compromise to reach, as too much science will make the movie too talky, but too much adventure will make it seem hollow." In February 2006, producer Frank Marshall said filming would begin in 2007 for a 2008 release. In March 2007, Sam Neill said he was not asked to reprise his role as Dr. Alan Grant, while Laura Dern was asked to return, which Universal still wanted to release by 2008. The film was delayed til 2009. In December 2008, the producers stated it was unlikely it would be made since the passing of the author of Jurassic Park, but Universal wants the film to be made, so for now, it will be made, not for a few years, until a good plot-line is proposed.

Novels

Films

Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park is a 1993 science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. The film centers on the island of Isla Nublar, where scientists have created an amusement park of cloned dinosaurs. John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) invites a group of scientists, played by Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern, to visit the park. Sabotage sets the dinosaurs on the loose, and technicians and visitors attempt to escape the island.

Development of the film began before the novel was even published, and Crichton was hired to contribute to a script that cut much of its story. Spielberg hired Stan Winston Studios' puppets and worked with Industrial Light and Magic to develop cutting-edge CGI to portray the dinosaurs. Jurassic Park was well received by critics, although they criticized the characterization. During its release, the film grossed $914 million, becoming the most successful film yet released, and it is currently the tenth-highest grossing feature film, significantly inspiring a new breed of films that primarily used CGI for special effects.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a 1997 science fiction film and sequel to Jurassic Park directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. After the success of the first film, fans and critics alike pressured Michael Crichton for a sequel novel. Having never done one before, Crichton originally declined, but when Steven Spielberg finally started pressuring Crichton, a sequel novel was announced. As soon as the novel was published, a film was in pre-production, with a target release date of mid-1997. The film was a commercial success, breaking many box-office records when released. The film had mixed reviews, similar to its predecessor in terms of characterization.

The film centers on the island of Isla Sorna, an auxiliary site for the main Jurassic Park island, where dinosaurs have taken over and live in the wild. Ian Malcolm leads a team to document the dinosaurs in their native habitat, while an InGen team attempts to capture them for a second Jurassic Park in San Diego. After finishing The Lost World, Steven Spielberg stated he would never work on another Jurassic Park movie again.

Jurassic Park III

Jurassic Park III is a 2001 science fiction film and sequel to The Lost World: Jurassic Park. It is the first in the series not to be based on a book by Michael Crichton or directed by Steven Spielberg. Originally, a third Jurassic Park film was produced under the title Jurassic Park: Extinction, with the script involving a killer disease that threatened to wipe out the dinosaurs on both islands. After numerous script changes, Universal decided to drop the idea in favor of the current plot, with the title Jurassic Park III. Although the idea was dropped, it was to be reused for Jurassic Park IV.

Joe Johnston had been interested in directing the sequel to Jurassic Park and approached friend Steven Spielberg about the project. While Spielberg wanted to direct the first sequel, he agreed that if there was ever a third film, Johnston could direct. Production began on August 30, 2000 with filming in California, Oahu, and Molokai. The film was a moderate success, and had mixed reviews from critics. Most were split on whether the third installment was better or worse than its predecessor. The film once again suffered reviews of little to no characterization.

The setting takes place on Isla Sorna, the island from the second film, after a couple hires Dr. Alan Grant to help them find their son, Eric.